Best budget speaker cable for surround sound

[gbbird]

Hi All,

I have worked out i need about 30 metres of speaker cable for when i plumb in my new AV set up. I do not want to spend silly money, so i was wondering what the best budget speaker cable is and where is the best place to buy in bulk? I have been told that OFMC is the type of cable to get, and I am not particuarly bothered about a branded name as long as it does the business.

Any suggestions/recommendations?

cheers

g

[mattpullen64]

QED Micro is fine for long runs on rear speakers. I got a couple of 20m runs from ebay for not much money, it's also fairly small and pliable so you can hide it under skirting boards etc. There's not much point going for a better grade cable than that for a long run to rear speakers.

[mattpullen64]

p.s. For the centre and front channels in a half decent setup it's worth getting better cable. Preferably stick with the same brand for the centre and the fronts, it doesn't matter too much about the rears. There are loads of brands to chose from which could open a can of worms on here with lots of personal preferance, but if you stick to one of the big names and stay within budget you'll be fine.

chord, van den hull, QED, are a few that all have a range at a range of levels. If it's mainly a system for home cinema use (rather than music in stereo) then i'd go with whatever you can get a good deal on.

[gbbird]

Hmmm. Looking at the QED Classic 79 or the QED QX16/2. Both are of a similiar price, so does anyone know which would be the better. I wonder if with the QX you are paying for the fire resistance for the sake of quality?

g

[cjs]

You will not notice the difference between any cable on surround sound, just use budget stuff or go and buy some 2 core oval mains flex, you can get 100m for £20.

[headcase]

It depends on the system

[Plotloss]

Dont worry about branding.

Go and get a 79 strand from an electrical factors. £25 a reel or so.

[Andehh]

cjs said:

You will not notice the difference between any cable on surround sound, just use budget stuff or go and buy some 2 core oval mains flex, you can get 100m for £20.

I'd agree with this, any 2mm+ stuff should do the job. The difference in cables wont be apparent with any typical mid range surround sound setup. Placement of speakers etc will cause far more quality issues then the cables linking them!

[gbbird]

Thanks for the advice guys. Unfortunately, the cost of a new kitchen has come in slightly higher than anticipated (i blame it on the OH) so my surround sound plans need to take a bit of a back seat for while, but when the time comes i think i shall just for for some QED Classic 79 as it can be had for less than £1 per meter.

cheers

g

[nonuts]

If anyone isn't aware the Clas Ohlson places that have been popping up could be good for this:

http://www.clasohlson.co.uk/Product/Product.aspx?i...

[- Paul -]

Just the subject I was looking for. I'm in the buying stages of setting up my first home theatre setup. Bought some cheap Q acoustic 1010 and a centre speaker to match. Have my eye on the Onkyo 607 and then started to look at speaker cable! It's a minefield....

[_dobbo_]

Just picked up a set of Q Acoustic 1020i myself, with a view to upgrading my existing wharfdale surround speakers. Currently have them amped up in the dining room and they sound pretty good to me!

Need a decent but discrete center to go with them, the hunt continues!

[gbbird]

Had a chat with Richer sounds earlier, and their cheapest Cambridge Audiospeaker cable at 99ppm is over 100 strand, well above the 79 industry standard for this application. The next one up at £1.49pm is 200 strand.

Seem to fit the bill on all accounts

[Plotloss]

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CASPEAK42.htm...

79 strand wont go up the G-Mounts so if you're going for something like this it has to be the 42 strand.

Unless you go for either a 16/2 or a 14/2 as the jacket is thinner as its double jacketed.

[gbbird]

Thanks for the tip Plotty. Why is everything so complicated! Although the AV has been delayed somewhat by the new kitchen, this is all useful for the future. Plus i am rethinking the ceiling mounts in favour of wall flower stands. Is it the same with these in that 79 strand+ would not run up the middle of them?

So what is 16/2 or 14/2 cable? Is it 72 strand but made thinly? I would prefer to get the best budget type, higher strand speaker cable when i eventually wire it all up. Would the QED micro do? What is the best out there to run with G mounts or wall flowers? Is the stuff AG provide with the micros decent?

Edited by gbbird on Wednesday 24th February 20:00

[_dobbo_]

- Paul - said:

Bought some cheap Q acoustic 1010 and a centre speaker to match.

Q acoustic 1000Ci is the center speaker to match your 1010s - if you want it to match that is.

[SlimJ]

I'm using Van Damme Blue, it's Studio Grade apparently and it's only 1.90 a meter. Guys on AV Forums seem to recommend it over more expensive cable.

Cable is thick and chunky and works well with my Denon / Monitor Audio setup.

[gbbird]

The Van Damme does look good but it's too chunky for my AV needs. Although my Gallo surround system is on the back burner for a while, know what i am getting and i still need to plumb in the rear speaker cables very soon when the living room gets replastered. After talking to Anthony Gallo directly (they no longer include their own cable with the Micros), they say the QED micro or the Ixos Ultraflex are both suitable to run through the wall flower and G mounts. So, now i just need to decide whether to go Ixos Ultraflex or QED micro? And, if i go for QED micro, is the QED Micro silver worth the extra £1.60 a metre over the standard micro?

g

Edited by gbbird on Friday 26th February 08:26